The origins of the club began in September 1941 when the Mark III Lads' Club, Bedminster Down was opened at Bedminster Down Junior School in Cheddar Grove. In 1958, the club moved to new premises in a pavilion at Langford Road. In 1961 the club, now known as the Bedminster Down Lad's Club, announced plans to erect new premises located in Winford Grove at a cost of £6000. The new building was opened in August 1964 as Bedminster Down Boys' Club. A junior section of the club for boys aged 11 to 14, was introduced in 1966. The club closed on 16 June 2004. In 2014, Andy Lewis, a long-time member of the club, published a history of the club entitled 'Girls Not Allowed: A History of Bedminster Down Boys' Club'.

Access status

Open

Access conditions

None

Arrangement

The vast majority of the records were collated and annotated by Steve Long, long-time leader of the club, who arranged the material into a series of ring-binders. The numbers and titles given in the catalogue reflect those of the original ring-binders. Please note that a number of the ring-binders, (nos: 27-29 and 43), contained duplicate material and were therefore not deposited. There were also 2 ring-binders, (nos: 20 & 31), missing from the collection at the time of deposit. The reason for these items being missing was not known to the depositor. For preservation reasons the pages have been removed from the ring-binders, tied with treasury tags and placed into archival folders, maintaining their original order. The original ring-binders were disposed of.

Related material

See also 43131/2

Custodial history

When the club closed in 2004, the material was handed over to 'Young Bristol', formerly known as the Bristol & District Federation of Boys Clubs. When they decided to dispose of the material it was rescued by an employee and passed on to Andy Lewis, the depositor.